12th annual Jewish Film Festival to feature broad range of movies

What makes the 12th annual Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival - happening May 5-9 at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater - different from all other festivals?

Its focus on new films (documentary and narrative) that explore aspects of Jewish history, culture and identity.

And although the festival happens in four Michigan locales—West Bloomfield, Kalamazoo, Flint and Ann Arbor—a committee in each location determines which films they’ll locally screen.

“We usually get between 14 or 15 films that best reflect our community and our interests,” said Karen Freedland, the Jewish cultural arts and education director at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Ann Arbor, which presents the festival annually.

One of the biggest draws this year is likely to be the opening night film, “Hava Nagila,” a documentary that’s earned appreciative reviews in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and NPR, among others.

“It’s a film that’s playing at Jewish film festivals across the country,” said Freedland. “ … It’s uplifting, and it’s so fascinating to learn about the history of this famous song. It’s played at hockey games; Harry Belafonte used to sing it - it’s a song where, whether you’re Jewish or not, you connect to it.”

Another feel-good film, in Freedland’s view, is “The Day I Saw Your Heart,” a narrative film from France.

“It’s a scenario of an older man who gets married for a second time to a younger woman, and the family’s reaction to that,” said Freedland. “ … You think everybody’s about to fall apart, but they rally at end. It’s a good movie. Definitely one of the more lighthearted films we’re showing.”

A topic perennially explored, of course, is Israeli/Palestinian relations. “The Bottle in the Gaza Sea” is a French film about a 17-year-old girl who, after moving to Jerusalem, writes a letter stating that she refuses to accept that only hatred can reign between Israelis and Palestinians. She puts the letter in a bottle, and when her serviceman brother throws it into the sea near Gaza, a young Palestinian man, calling himself “Gazaman,” responds.

“Kaddish for a Friend,” meanwhile, is a German film that focuses on a 14-year-old Palestinian boy who, in an attempt to prove himself to his friends, breaks into the apartment of an elderly Russian Jewish war veteran, and then watches his friends vandalize the man’s home. When the man comes home unexpectedly, he recognizes the boy and consequently, the boy must repair the damage.

Finally, “The Other Son,” also explores the issue of culture and identity.

“Many people are buying tickets for this one ahead of time,” said Freedland. “It’s not a true story, but it could be, about two boys who are switched at birth. The Jewish son is raised Palestinian, and vice versa. So it’s about what happens when they find out the truth.”

“The Other Son” is one of four JFF events that will feature a post-screening speaker (Dr. Michael Singer). Others include “BESA: The Promise,” at which former U-M professor Frances Trix will discuss the group of Muslim Albanians that saved Jews during World War II; “A.K.A. Doc Pomus” - about the Brooklyn-born, polio-afflicted songwriter Doc Pomus (“Teenager in Love,” “This Magic Moment,” etc.) - which will be followed by a talk by Larry Kuperman about Jews in rock and roll; and “Mendelsohn’s Incessant Vision,” after which Jennifer Perlove Siegel will speak about the influential architecture of Erich Mendelsohn.

And while “The Flat” previously played at the Michigan Theater, many may have missed the chance to see this American documentary about a family that suddenly uncovers secrets about its past.

“It’s a true-life detective story,” said Freedland. “In Tel Aviv, after this grandmother’s deceased, the family’s going through her belongings when they find a connection to Germans, to Nazis, in World War II, before the family emigrated to Israel. It’s this unraveling mystery about who the family was, and is. … It’s sad, but it gives you hope, too.”

For a complete schedule of this year’s festival lineup, visit http://www.jccannarbor.org/cultural-arts-education/jewish-film-festival/.

Jenn McKee is an entertainment reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.